Prayer wheel

From Tibet19th century
AD

Used to repeat prayers on
pilgrimage

This prayer-wheel has a large silver drum with
a weight on a chain attached on a long wooden handle. The Eight
Auspicious Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism are used to decorate the
silver case: the lotus, conch, knot, vase, parasols, wheels, fishes
and banner. Mantras
(prayers) in the lan
'tsha script complete the
design.

A prayer wheel is a
device for repeating the
mantras, which are
written on the outside and contained inside the drum on slips of
paper. The drum rotates clockwise on the wooden handle, the weight
on the chain helping it to spin. Rotating the drum, according to
traditional understanding, automatically repeats the prayer, which
is almost always 'Om Mani Padme
Hum'.

The same
mantras are written on
mani stones which are
left in the Tibetan countryside as offerings. Similarly, prayers
are written on flags that flutter in the wind at
stupas.
Large prayer-drums in Buddhist temples also have prayers written
upon them. They are spun clockwise by hand. Clockwise motion is
auspicious and considered to bring good fortune in both Buddhism
and Hinduism. Pilgrims go clockwise around an image, a temple or a
sacred site. One of the greatest pilgrimages in Tibet is to walk
around the holy mountain of Kailash in the far west of the region.
Pilgrims will often carry a prayer-wheel such as this as they
walk.